Detroit Red Wings: The Expected Grand Rapids Griffins Goaltenders

Harri Sateri and Patrik Rybar are expected to be the tandem in-goal this season for the Grand Rapid Griffins.  Do either of them have a future with the Detroit Red Wings?

A couple of goaltenders to watch this season are Harri Sateri (28) and Patrik Rybar (24).  Both tenders are set to work in Grand Rapids this season, but injuries are always a possibility.  Sateri played well Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh for the Detroit Red Wings, leading them to a 3-2 victory.

Harri Sateri faced 31 shots Sunday afternoon at the expense of the Penguins; he made 29 saves.  Sateri’s only other appearance was in the first preseason game where he split time with Jimmy Howard.  Sateri played the second half of contest but only saw three shots and kept them all out of the cage.

Sateri played 9 games last season for the Florida Panthers.  He posted a record of 4 and 4 with 2.92 goals against average along with a .911 save percentage. Harri played in 29 AHL games last season for Springfield and had a 2.30 GAA, .927 Save percentage.

Sateri started his professional career in the American Hockey League where he played four seasons with the Worcester Sharks.  Sateri recorded below .500 records in each of those four seasons between 2010-2014.

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The goaltender then made a career decision and decided to try his luck playing in the KHL.  Sateri played three seasons with the Podolsk Vityaz.  He posted much better numbers.  In his final KHL season, Sateri played in 42 games and recorded a record of 20-16-5. Also posting a goals against average of 2.50 and a save percentage of .929.

Sateri’s expected battery mate is Patrik Rybar.  Rybar played in the Czech Republic league last season for the Hradec Kralove.  He played in 36 games and posted impressive numbers. Rybar recorded a 1.73 GAA and a .931 Save percentage.  The record suggests Hradec may have been the strongest player on the team.  His record was 23-13-0.

The competition Rybar saw in the Czech league isn’t quite as fierce as Sateri has seen in the KHL.  Dobber Prospects has predicted Rybar only has a 40% chance of making it as an NHL regular. Sateri is predicted just a tick better by Dobber, 45% chance of NHL certainty.

The Detroit Red Wings have signed both of these goaltenders to one-year deals.  Sateri will become an Unrestricted Free Agent, with Rybar becoming a Restricted Free Agent at season’s end.

They will be a pair to follow for Grand Rapids all season long.  If an injury occurs, Detroit will need someone to be reliable.  The early favorite is Sateri.

IF and that is a big if, either of them performs exceptionally well this season the Detroit Red Wings may be enticed enough to give them a shot next season as a cheap backup goalie to Jonathan Bernier.  With Jimmy Howard entering the final season of his contract and all his recent injury history there is no guarantee Howard returns to the Wings.

The entire season is an audition for these Griffins goaltenders until the recent draft choices are groomed and become NHL ready.  Of course, the Wings may also decide to sign a capable back-up next summer through free agency.  Unlikely but with a couple of big names possibly entering free agency the Detroit Red Wings may choose to make a splash and sign a starter next summer keeping Bernier as the back-up.

Some goaltenders that are joining Howard entering the final season of their contract are; Sergei Bobrovsky, Pekka Rinne, Semyon Varlamov, Cam Ward, Cam Talbot, Mike Smith, Ryan Miller, and Brian Elliott.